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New Series Watch: In Treatment and Breaking Bad
2008-01-29 15:07
by Jon Weisman

I've got a couple of new Season Pass posts at Variety: one on new HBO series In Treatment, the other on AMC's Breaking Bad.

For Dodger Thoughts commenter CanuckDodger, here's the latter:

Turning an old prisoner plot on its ear by making the guy you're rooting for the captor instead of the captive, the second episode of "Breaking Bad" didn't disappoint after a promising pilot.

The show is unafraid to get dark and gruesome — not for gratuitous purposes, but rather in service of a larger story examining our morals in challenging times. Good guys doing bad things and all that. Credit for this starts with showrunner Vince Gilligan, but Gilligan could not have done better in finding someone to anchor the show than Bryan Cranston, rocking the house in the role of chem teacher/meth maker/cancer sufferer Walter White.

White is equal parts hero and weakling — it's as if we're catching him amid an aborted transformation, and it's kinda fascinating. His Odd Couple interplay with Jesse (Aaron Paul) crackles without seeming contrived.

There are still a couple of quirks with the show. Scenes in which White uses his chemistry knowledge in hardcore, real-life situations work much better than the scenes in White's classroom, where his attempts to make chemistry seem meaningful feel on the nose (and where signs of an impending collapse seem all too obvious).

Also, Walter's relationship with his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn, working awfully hard to seem interesting) is strained creatively. There have been some headscratching scenes between the two. Marriages can run hot and cold, but the hot and cold in the White marriage doesn't always seem connected — there needs to be more of a thruline that relates the mood swings. Nevertheless, we're only in the second episode, leaving plenty of time for this to be ironed out.

AMC producing two quality drama series feels a bit like the Pittsburgh Pirates making the NBA (that's not a typo, that's the joke) finals. But with "Mad Men" and the less fantastic but still worthwhile "Breaking Bad," AMC continues to score big with its transformation.

Comments
2008-01-29 15:33:43
1.   CanuckDodger
I said on Dodger Thought last week that it would be impossible for Breaking Bad to follow up the outstanding pilot with an episode that didn't pale in comparison. I was mistaken. Episode 2 grabbed me and wouln't let go. I have a fondness, I suppose, for material that is very dark but very funny at the same time. I am glad you and I are on the same page, more or less, about Breaking Bad, after disagreeeing about the merits of Mad Men.
2008-01-29 15:34:16
2.   CanuckDodger
I said on Dodger Thought last week that it would be impossible for Breaking Bad to follow up the outstanding pilot with an episode that didn't pale in comparison. I was mistaken. Episode 2 grabbed me and wouln't let go. I have a fondness, I suppose, for material that is very dark but very funny at the same time. I am glad you and I are on the same page, more or less, about Breaking Bad, after disagreeeing about the merits of Mad Men.
2008-01-29 15:43:01
3.   Jon Weisman
test
2008-01-29 18:04:04
4.   Bob Timmermann
I was trying to place Walter White's partner in crime and realized it was the somewhat irritating boyfriend of Bill Paxton's daughter in "Big Love."
2008-01-29 20:32:15
5.   jtrichey
I have been watching the re-airing of Mad Men on AMC the last 2 weeks. I've got to say that I am unimpressed. Through 2 episodes there isn't a single character I really like. And I'm not sure there is a single plotline period. Womanizers--check. Drinkers--check. OK, the wife has some health issues. I don't know that I will be watching much more. Do things change as we go along, or is this all I can expect?
2008-01-29 21:30:24
6.   Bob Timmermann
I don't know if "Mad Men" is supposed to have likeable characters.
2008-01-29 22:17:15
7.   Jon Weisman
I liked almost all the characters. Despite their flaws, they almost all had redeeming qualities and were incredibly compelling to me.

I feel it's safe to say the show is about more than drinking and womanizing.

2008-01-30 08:38:57
8.   Kevin Lewis
Is anyone else excited for Lost this week? I definitely need the recap episode to refresh my memory. I am going to be sad when it stops after 7-8 episodes
2008-01-30 09:35:49
9.   ibleedbloo
8 Can't wait for Lost. I wish I knew someone with the east coast feed just so I don't have to wait as long. I rewatched the entire series over the last few weeks so I'd be fresh on all of the story lines.
2008-01-30 10:51:47
10.   Jon Weisman
I watched the Lost season premiere last night. It wasn't jawdropping like last season's finale, of course, but it was still very cool.
2008-01-30 12:27:03
11.   Bob Timmermann
Next week's episode of "The Wire" is probably the best one of the season. There's starting to be a payoff to all the newspaper stuff.
2008-01-30 15:38:35
12.   Kevin Lewis
10

When you mentioned the preview arriving, I almost invited myself over :)

I know it is a lot to ask again, but if anyone has any suggestions on what movies to see at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this weekend, I am all ears.

Here is the link: http://www.sbfilmfestival.org/

I will be there Saturday and Sunday

2008-01-30 20:37:45
13.   jtrichey
6 , 7 Of course the drinking and womanizing being the sole plot was an exaggeration. However, are the first 2 episodes representative of the whole season, or is it just setting up better stuff? If it is representative, there is no need for me to watch any more. If it leads to better things, I'll stay. Characters don't have to be likeable to be intriguing, but they do have to be interesting, and that's what I meant. So far, I'm not interested in a single character.
2008-01-30 21:10:06
14.   Bob Timmermann
The competition between Don Draper and Pete Campbell is quite intriguing. Robert Morse's character is great.
2008-01-30 21:22:50
15.   Jon Weisman
13 - I just don't know how to respond. I think there is so much going on in the series - it expands as the show goes on, but I don't think the first two episodes lacked for material. 14 barely scratches the surface. So I just don't know what to tell you.
2008-01-30 23:55:04
16.   ibleedbloo
I am expecting a lot to happen in this 8 episode season of Lost. I fully anticipate being upset more than once this season by constant cliff hangers. I hope they do the right thing and make seasons 5 and 6 full seasons of at least 20 episodes. There is still to much story to tell.
2008-01-31 06:28:59
17.   Jon Weisman
16 - There are 48 episodes of Lost left - that's not going to grow.
2008-01-31 08:53:20
18.   ibleedbloo
I'm not looking to get more than the 48 episodes that were promised, I was/am worried that they would just be sticking to the 16 episode seasons they had planned on prior to the strike.

I don't want to lose the 8 we will get shorted this season.

2008-01-31 08:53:40
19.   Kevin Lewis
Jon,

What do you think the chances are that Lost never really gets a chance to complete its story? I imagine if the strike goes on for too long, ABC will just cut the funding and the actors will need to move on

2008-01-31 10:04:06
20.   ibleedbloo
19 Where would they go, there are no writers anywhere. I don't see them doing a reality show, unless Charlie (RIP) can come back and do a season of the Surreal life.

Can you imagine Flavor Flav, Vanilla Ice, and the guys from Drive Shaft in a reality show? The story writes itself.

2008-01-31 12:28:23
21.   Kevin Lewis
I wonder if it would need to finish up on the internet through a privately funded group
2008-01-31 15:42:00
22.   Jon Weisman
19/21 - I wouldn't worry about that.
2008-01-31 15:45:14
23.   ibleedbloo
21 I hear the Dharma Initiative has fund available for some new investment oppertunites.
2008-01-31 16:53:09
24.   Jon Weisman
NPUT

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